Gyratory crushers are often used to crush rock and other material extracted during mining operations to crush the material into smaller sizes for subsequent processing. Examples of gyratory crushers may be appreciated from U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2011/0259984 and 2011/0155833 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,033,491, 3,666,188 and 2,667,309.
As mining equipment and milling equipment sizes have increased, the demand for crushing capacity for extracted material has increased. Consequently, there has been a growing need for larger crushers to provide higher rates of crushed material to output for subsequent processing and extraction of desired minerals or ore from the crushed material. Some crusher circuits are now being designed or updated to use more gyratory crushers to accommodate this desire for an increased rate of crusher production.
But, the use of more gyratory crushers incurs a substantial cost. For example, the cost of such equipment is typically large as such devices are often configured to crush thousands of tons of material per hour and tens of thousands of material per day. Sizes of gyratory crushers often range from ten feet to thirty-five feet in height and ten to twenty-one feet in width. Such large equipment results in extensive capital costs. Additionally, the maintenance of such large equipment can incur substantial costs. Simply using more of the same equipment to meet a demand for ever increasing amounts of material therefore can incur substantial operational expenses in addition to the capital expenses associated with such devices.
I have determined that a new crusher is needed that can provide an increased rate of production for a comparably sized conventional crusher. I have determined that such a crusher preferably permits maintenance to occur more easily so that less downtime is associated with the maintenance of the device.